Break The Ice (Viktor X OC)
by JazzieLouise
Summary: Autumn is a freelance writer and she's living perfectly fine in England when Damien signs her up for some work in Japan. It seems like heaven, until she realizes there's a catch, she has to somehow interview Viktor Nikiforov! A feat which no reporter seems to have succeeded with yet, not properly. Follow Autumn as her life is turned upside down. (Viktor X OC)
1. Chapter 1

I stared at the travel brochures in my hand of Kyushu, Japan. It was where I really wanted to go next. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration. I really want to go to Japan and out of all the locations, Kyushu is one of the cheapest places to get to, so I've set my heart on that.

I'm a writer who is currently unable to find the back bone for their novels and money is running low. I've got a couple of shorter pieces self-published on Amazon, but with how much of a cut they take and the fact my wok isn't all that well known, the royalties on all of my projects are really low. I'm currently trying to work on a couple of novels at once, I was never great at sticking to one project at a time, but as I've said already, I'm struggling to find the backbone that they need. As well as trying to be a novelist, I'm also a freelance writer who writes articles for journals, blogs and newspapers, but as I've said, I'm not well known, so my work source is all but dried up.

I've burnt out recently which is why I so desperately need a vacation. I picked up the vouchers for Kyushu again. 'I'd love to see Hasetsu Castle, but I need the money for the flight first.' I threw the brochures down on the table and ran a through my fringe, pushing it back atop my head.

My phone started ringing in my pocket and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Damien. I answered and flopped myself down on my coach. 'Yo, Damien. What's up?'

 _'Yo to you too, Autumn. I have a proposition for you.'_

'And what would that happen to be?'

 _'Well, you know how you really want to go to Kyushu?'_

'Well, Japan in general. I'd much rather go to Tokyo or Shibuya, but yeah, go on.'

I heard Damien sigh and I knew he was dragging a hand down his face. _'Beggars can't be choosers Autumn. Right, I'm gonna get right down to it. I have a contact who wants an article written and knowing you want to go to Japan, I volunteered you for it.'_

'Okay.' I said, dragging the word out. 'That sounds fantastic, but you've volunteered me before I even know what the article's on. What's the catch?' There was a pause. 'Damien, tell me.'

 _'You just need to write an article on a Russian man by the name of Viktor Nikiforov. He's a professional ice skater, he's thinking about retiring soon, he's twenty-seven, and at the moment, he's residing in Kyushu, to coach a Japanese figure skater, by the name of Yuuri Katsuki.'_

'Right.' Now it was my turn to do the face palming. 'You do understand that I don't know the first thing about ice skating? And if he's Russian, how do I communicate with him?'

' _I believe he might be trilingual in Russian, Japanese and English._ _Maybe not completely fluent in all three, but you'll manage. You have English, and how long did you spend studying Japanese?'_

'About eight years, but-'

Damien cut me off. ' _See? There you go, you're set. All you need to do is to pack yourself a bag and get on the plane.'_

'I haven't agreed yet.'

' _Well, see, that's a problem, your flight is tomorrow.'_

 _'_ Ehh?! You expect me to uproot everything by tomorrow?! I don't have any money! Damien, for fuck's sake! You can't keep throwing me in front of the truck every time you feel like it!'

 _'It's fine, it's fine. This is a big company, it's all expenses paid. Flight, transport, accommodation, the lot. I threw you under the bus because this is a big break for you and I know you deserve it.'_

I knew this was Damien trying to talk himself out of a potentially sticky situation, but I knew that he meant well. Kinda. '…For fuck's sake. I get what you're saying, but still, it's a bit much.' I paused and got up and started to pace, not being able to sit still any longer. 'Right, but why're they pulling out all the stops for this guy? Either he's really, _really_ special, or no one's been able to get much out of him.'

 _'It's a bit of both really. He is really special, but he's important too. He's the man that everyone's watching right now and no one has been able to dig past his charming exterior.'_

'Charming?'

 _'Yeah, he's kind of a looker. It's difficult to admit it, but he's won over most of the female population, and that's the problem, he uses charisma to dodge all of the serious questions. They need someone grounded to interview him, someone stubborn, who'll get past the charming exterior.'_

'So you suggested me?'

 _'Yup.'_

'…Fine. I'll do it.'

 _'Really?!'_

 _I'm gonna regret this. '_ Send me my flight details and accommodation and anything you've got on both Viktor and Yuuri.'

 _'I know you're thinking that you're going to end up regretting this, but you won't. This is going to be your big break. I'll contact Viktor and arrange interview times.'_

I was stunned. 'Doesn't he have a publicity representative or something?'

 _'His coach, Yakov, took care of all of the PR stuff, but then Viktor ditched him in Russia and went off on his own.'_

I got off the phone with Damien and he sent me all of the details I needed. Info on Viktor, Yuuri and on my flight and accommodation. I watched the files come through on my inbox and I was kinda tempted to open them right then and there, but I held a hand out in front of my laptop to stop myself. I needed to go and speak to my parents, if I was just going to fuck off across the world like that.

I grabbed my bag and my bike and set off to cycle the three miles to my parents' house.

'Hello Autumn dearest,' my mother said as she ushered me in. 'What brings you here?'

I pulled her in for a hug, burying my face in her dark brown wavy hair that was so much like my own. 'Hey mum.' I pulled away and kicked the door closed behind me. 'I may or may not be going to Japan tomorrow.'

Her eyes widened, but she didn't seem as shocked as I was thinking she would be, this isn't the first time I've given less than twenty four hours' notice before taking off to a different country.

'Did Damien set you up with more freelance work?'

I nodded, 'yeah, he knows I need it. My last collection of short stories completely flopped on Amazon. Damien knew I had an interest in Japan so he signed me up immediately, and then consulted me on it afterwards.'

'Well, I'm going to be sorry to see you go, but I'm glad I get to see you doing what you want to do. Your just like your father Autumn, he's still not back from his latest business trip.' The crestfallen look must've been really showing as my mum pulled me into a hug.

'It would've been really nice to see him before I left. I have absolutely no idea when I'm going to be back just yet.'

'Come through into the living room darling, Elizabeth just got back from school, she'll be really happy to see you.'

I was handed a cup of coffee and I sat and watched my eight year old sister with her colouring book laid out by my feet.

'I know you wanted to go to Japan since that's where you're new novel's set. But what are you required to do whilst you're over there?'

'I'm required to do an interview on a Russian figure skater, Viktor Nikiforov.'

My little sister perked up at this and she kneeled and clapped her hands on my knees, staring at me with those bright hazel eyes. 'Viktor is amazing! He's so cool!' She scurried to her feet and started prancing around the living room, doing twirls and spins. 'Viktor goes like this!' She shouted before doing a big spin.

'Oh, she's enamoured with him. She made me take her ice skating; only to get injured doing it and realising it's not for her.'

Elizabeth promptly looked very sheepish as this information was relayed to me.

After a little while, I had to bid farewell to Elizabeth and my mum, as I apparently had a trip to Japan that I needed to prepare for.

I got back to my tiny apartment that night and packed up as best I could, considering I knew nothing about what this trip entailed. Damien, thankfully, knows about my tendency to be a crap packer and to always take too much, so he made sure I could take extra luggage on the plane. After this was done, it was quite late, so I settled down in bed to do some reading on Viktor and Yuuri. There was quite a bit of background information on Yuuri, about his family and such, but there was very little background on Viktor's family. I sighed at the seemingly insurmountable task ahead of me and settled down for bed.

After a twelve hour flight, I finally arrived in Japan. I stretched my neck and went through security and the procedure needed to get my luggage as if in a complete trance. I dragged all of my stuff into the lobby of the air-port and pulled out my phone as I double checked what the agenda was. _Landed in Japan, check. Next, I have to check in at the hot springs place. Then I have the rest of the day to relax, before I have to meet with Viktor tomorrow and God I really need that rest._

So imagine how I felt, when I saw a particular silver-haired man standing in the lobby, spinning around a sign with my name decorated across it, not just written but proper fancy, cursive script and he was whistling as he did so.

 **Thank you for reading! Please leave a review, I love hearing from you guys :3**


	2. Chapter 2

I cautiously walked over to him. I waved as I contemplated which language to go with, English or Japanese?

He set the scene by immediately opening up with English. 'Hi, I'm Viktor Nikiforov.' I was very surprised to see that he wasn't surrounded by fans, I could see a few people gawking, but then again, it's 7am Japan time at the moment.

'Hey Viktor, I'm Autumn. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but I do have to ask, what brings you here? I wasn't meant to meet you till tomorrow.'

'Well, I was so excited to meet you, I struggled to sleep last night, so I was thinking I could just come and meet you at the airport. I've got us a lift back; you're staying at the Katsuki hot spring, right?' He shot me a bright smile.

His English was very good, but I could tell he hadn't used it in a little while as his Russian accent was seeping thickly through over the top of his words. 'Excited to meet me?' I cocked my head to the side, 'how come?'

'I've heard a bit about you, Damien is friends with my coach, Yakov. So I got some information out of him.' He gave me a wink, and I was kinda beginning to realise what people meant by his charm.

'Well, I wish I could say I knew a lot about you in return, but I only found out about your existence yesterday. My little sister is a fan though, apparently.'

'We can always get to know each other a bit before the interview, I find formal interviews _so_ restricting. Casual ones are much better.' He gestured to my luggage, 'can I help you with that?'

'I-I'd appreciate that actually, that's very kind of you.' I relinquished my hold on my purple suitcase and he started wheeling it along as he led the way.

He did a bit of a fist pump with his spare hand. _Was this man really twenty-seven? Heck, who're you to judge, you're such a big kid yourself._

He gave me a hand piling all of my stuff into the taxi and held the door open for me as I clamoured inside. 'Thank you Viktor.'

'Do you know any Japanese, Autumn?' He asked as he climbed in behind me.

I nodded, 'I'm almost fluent, would that make you more comfortable than English?'

Viktor shook his head and gave a light chuckle, it almost sounded musical. 'No, English is fine with me, it's just the people we're going to be staying with don't know much English, so having an ability to flit is useful.'

'I'm nothing if not adaptable.' I gave him a small smirk as I caught his gaze out the corner of my eye and he returned it with a grin of his own.

About twenty minutes later, we arrived outside of what looked like a Japanese hot spring, I reached for my purse, but Viktor shook his head and was adamant that he pay. 'Fine,' I agreed reluctantly, 'but I need to get you a drink at some point then.' _Was that me flirting?_

Viktor blinked but then he seemed to transition and his face took on a smirk as he held a long finger up to the corner of his lips. 'And what drink would this be? Coffee, or something a bit… More?'

I shrugged as I started hauling myself out of the taxi, 'it can be whatever you wish, Viktor.'

'Can it now?' Viktor stepped round to give me a hand once again. 'I know a nice bar in that case then.' He hauled my main suitcase out again and only seemed to realise the size of it, now. 'Not to seem rude or strange, Autumn, but how long are you planning on staying in Japan? You have a lot of stuff.'

'Trying to get rid of me already, Viktor?' I chuckled.

'No, quite the contrary really.'

I glanced at him; he'd made me feel flustered, from the cheeky grin of his face, I'd say it was deliberate. 'I-I'm not too sure yet, a week or two? It really depends. My work is very flexible and can be done from anywhere.'

'I thought you were just here to do an interview on me?'

'Well, that's what this trip is mainly for. My friend Damien, scouted me out for a company that wants an article done on you, so they've paid for my flight and a week's worth of accommodation, but that's not the only reason I'm here.'

'Ooooh~' he made a point of singing this, 'I'm curious now.'

I took my suitcase and started walking on ahead, tapping my nose as I went. 'Well, that'll have to come later, won't it? Can't give all my secrets straight off the bat~' I sang back to him.

'Maybe over that drink then.'

'Maybe.'

As I got through the door of the hot spring, I got pounced by a giant fluffy poodle. 'Haha!' I cried out as I scratched the dog behind both ears. 'Look at you! Aren't you a gorgeous thing!'

I heard laughter from behind me, and whilst I was still lying on the floor, I looked up to see Viktor hanging over me, peering down at me and the poodle. 'I see you've met my dog!'

'He's yours?!' I wrestled with the dog so I could get to a seating position and I continued staring up at Viktor; I bet I looked like a right idiot. 'What's he called?'

'Makkachin.' He bent down at my side and we both stroked the dog, spoiling him rotten with affection.

'Viktor! You're back!'

I looked up at the sound of the new voice and so did Viktor. He had dark brown, almost black hair and large deep set brown eyes that were actually very beautiful. From the description I had received, he must be Yuuri Katsuki. I lifted the dog off me and he bounded straight into Viktor and knocked him over, which I couldn't help but laugh at.

I stuck out a hand to Yuuri, with what I hoped was an easy smile on my face, and I made an effort to transition to Japanese, being aware that now that I was at my accommodation, that it would become my main language. 'Hello, I'm Autumn. It's a pleasure to meet you. Would you happen to be Yuuri Katsuki?'

Yuuri seemed quite flustered, 'y-yes, I'm Yurri, it's also a p-pleasure to meet you, Autumn-san.'

I felt weight across my shoulder and I turned to see that Viktor had dropped his arm across my shoulder in a very casual manner. 'Your Japanese is great Autumn, but it's so stiff and formal!'

I puffed out my cheek. 'I'll have you know, Viktor-san, this is one of my first times using Japanese outside of a classroom setting, plus I'm a reporter, so that doesn't help my case. Hang on, why am I explaining myself to you anyway?!'

I sighed and turned back to Yuuri. 'Sorry, didn't mean to sound so rigid,' I gave him a smile. 'I'm a reporter, so it happens without me realising it sometimes.'

'Ahh, yeah, I remember my mum saying we would be having a reporter staying with us for a while. What're you here to work on?'

'Me.' Viktor said and when I looked at him he just gave me a wink.

 _Welp, that's embarrassing._ 'To give context there, so that isn't taken in a weird way, I'm here to do an interview on Viktor Nikiforov.'

'An interview?' Yuuri looked back and forth between us, making a point of looking at Viktor's arm draped across my shoulder, his crossed feet and his other hand on his hip. Essentially, taking in how Viktor was pretty much leaning on me. 'Are you guys strangers then?'

'Yes,' I said.

'No.'

I looked at Viktor as he contradicted me and I couldn't help but laugh. 'Met him for the first time,' I checked my watch, 'just under an hour ago.'

'Viktor!' Yuuri scolded, 'you can't be acting like that with a stranger. It's kinda inappropriate.' Yuuri started twiddling his thumbs, as the seriousness of his scolding gradually died off.

'It's fine, I don't mind too much. I'm quite good with people, when I have to be anyway.'

Yuuri looked at Viktor as if to challenge the fact that he was an a _ctual_ person. 'A-anyway, I'll show you to your room.'

'We should all sleep together!'

Me and Yuuri both turned back to him.

'What better way to get to know each other faster than a giant sleepover?! Whose with me?!' Makkachin promptly barked at his owner's feet, as if to second this proposal.

Yuuri face palmed. 'Viktor!' He stretched it out, to show his exasperation with the older Russian.

I know I was probably encouraging behaviour that Yuuri was clearly trying to stamp out, but I couldn't help the laugh that came bubbling over my lips. I wiped the beginning of a tear from my eye. 'Probably not tonight Viktor. I for one need some time for a cat nap and a nice soak in a hot spring.'

Viktor went to open his mouth, but Yuuri pointed a stern finger in his face, a blush firmly placed on his face. 'N-no, you are not bathing with her.'

Viktor stuck his bottom lip out, 'aww, damn, that's a shame.'

Yuuri led the way to my room and Viktor tagged along as well to help me carry my stuff. Between both Yuuri and Viktor, I didn't end up carrying that much stuff myself.

We got all of my stuff to my room and Viktor promptly star-fished across my face.

'Oi,' I scolded, 'how dare you starfish across my bed before me?!'

'You could always join me, Autumn.'

'Nah, I'm good thanks, mate.'

'Right,' Yuuri said awkwardly from the doorway and I turned to face him. 'I need to get back to helping my sister out.' He turned to Viktor. 'Viktor, what're you doing now?'

'I'm staying here.'

I walked over and took the Russian by the arm and hauled him up off my bed. 'Nah, ignore him Yuuri-san, he's going with you.' I gently guided Viktor to the doorway, and all but threw him at a flustered Yuuri.

'Meanie.' Said Viktor with a pout.

I ignored him. 'Thank you so much for all of your help Yuuri. I think I'm gonna make like a cat and nap for a bit, but then can I take a bath?'

He nodded. 'You're more than welcome, Autumn-san, and yeah sure, that's fine, come find me later and I'll set things up for you.'

'Thank you~' I sang. 'I'll see you guys later. I am the jetlagged.' With that, I gave them a little wave and closed my door and then chuckled as I could hear Viktor complaining on their way back down the stairs.

I then, like the twenty four year old I was, star fished upon my bed. A smile passed across my face. _What on earth have I gotten myself into this time round, huh?_

 **A/N Thank you for reading! Please leave a review with feedback, or just to say hi. I'd love to hear from you guys :3**


	3. Chapter 3

I napped for a couple of hours, which took me till around 11am. I woke up with a stretch, knowing that I couldn't let myself sleep any longer than that, or I'd never adjust to the time difference. I then proceeded to dig out the essentials that I'd need for the next week or so. Including my bikini and my robe, which I changed into. If I was going into the hot springs, even if it was just for females, I wasn't comfortable going in the nude.

I went downstairs, only to find that both Yuuri and Viktor had gone to the ice rink near Hasetsu Castle to practice quite some time ago. But Hiroko was more than happy to help me get sorted. I went into the hot springs and just took the time to relax and to think about my novel piece and the interview I'd have to do on Viktor Nikiforov. I began to make a mental checklist of the things I had already figured out about the Russian figure skater. _How on earth do I interview someone like him?_

There was suddenly some loud barking, followed by some loud yelping and the next thing I knew, something big and fluffy catapulted itself straight at me, crashing into the water just in front of me. A second later, Makkachin's head popped up. 'Hello there puppy! You really shouldn't be here…' I smirked and scratched his head. 'It's a good job I'm the only one here right now.'

I was interrupted from chilling in the hot springs with Makkachin, by someone rounding around the corner. A second later the person came into view, it was Viktor.

I hid my body behind the dog. 'Viktor!' I hissed, 'you can't be in here!'

'I know, I know!' He held his hands up in his defence and avoided looking at me. 'I didn't mean to, but Makkachin ran away!'

'I guess he just missed me is all.'

Viktor then stood there desperately trying to get the attention of his dog whilst avoiding looking at me. It was a pretty funny scene.

'It's okay Viktor, I wasn't comfortable coming in here properly, so I'm wearing my bikini.' At this point, it became obvious that Makkachin was deliberately ignoring Viktor, in favour of floating around with me, but his owner was looking kinda desperate.

'Tell you what, I'll cut you a deal, if you could grab my robe, I'll get out and I'm sure Makkachin will follow.'

'Deal!' And with that, he scampered off.

I scratched the dog's ears. 'How pesky you are.'

Viktor returned a minute later with both my robe and a towel.

'You're a star, thank you!'

I climbed out the hot spring and sure enough, Makkachin followed. I dried off and wrapped myself up in the robe.

I began to push Viktor out of the women's bathing area. 'We need to get you out of here!' Makkachin bounded along behind, evidently quite happy to just follow along.

'You seem to be pushing me around a lot, Autumn!'

'That's because you've been in all the wrong places!'

He simply chuckled, 'I don't mind one bit!'

Viktor led us into another area, where Yuuri was already waiting with three bowls of food on the table.

'Hey Autumn-san.'

'Yo, Yuuri-san.'

'Without the honorifics is fine,' Yuuri gave a bright smile.

'Thank you, same to you, no more Autumn-san.'

He nodded and gestured to the table with the food. 'Viktor thought you'd be hungry, so he asked for another pork cutlet bowl to be made. Would you like to eat it? If not, no worries, Viktor may have been too forward there.'

Viktor rubbed the back of his neck in a slightly sheepish fashion. 'Sorry Autumn, I never thought that you might not want it, it's really great after all.'

I shook my head, 'No, I'd love to try it! I'm very thankful, I haven't eaten properly since I was back in England! Airplane food doesn't count!'

'You're British then? Not American?' Yuuri asked as he handed me my bowl and chopsticks.

'Yush, I drink the tea and eat the crumpets.'

We all settled down to eat. 'So, I was told that you guys were practicing ice skating, are you done for the day?'

'No, not yet,' Yuuri said, 'we're just taking a lunch break before we go back down to the rink.'

'Would you like to join us, Autumn?' Viktor asked.

'Sure, it'll give me another opportunity to get some dirt on you, for the article.'

Viktor looked confused and then seemed to have a lightbulb moment. 'Oh yeah, I forgot that's why you were here.'

'How could you forget that?' I asked, 'What did you think I was here for?' I said with a smirk.

'I don't know really,' he looked sheepish again, but he soon recovered. 'I guess we were just having so much fun, it skipped my mind!'

A little while later, food had been eaten, I had put on proper clothes and we were down at the ice rink. I watched as Viktor skated his new short program routine around the rink. The one he was thinking he would do for his next season, before he decided to coach Yuri that is. Yuuri at the moment had gone out on a coffee run for all of us.

'Viktor,' I called out to the silver-haired man on the ice, 'What's the story behind the routine you're skating at the moment? Do you know?'

Viktor chuckled nervously, 'I don't really have one for it at the moment, I've been focusing on the choreography for the program at the moment.' He stopped skating and let the momentum carry him towards me. 'Is it really that noticeable?'

I shook my head, 'probably not, it's just, I'm a writer, this is one of those things I notice.' I twiddled my thumb and dropped my gaze as he rested his arms and head atop the barrier next to me. 'I suppose the only reason I noticed, is because I'm struggling to find a proper story for my new novels.'

At this point, I could hear the doors opening and I knew Yuuri was coming back in.

'Tell me about your work, Autumn.'

I shook my head. 'I don't know you well enough to divulge that kind of information just yet.'

Yuko came back at that point with a pair of skates.

'Are you skating, Yuko-san?' I asked her.

She shot me a bright smile and extended them towards me. 'There for you.'

I shook my hands, 'I don't skate.'

'Don't skate, or don't know how to skate?' Viktor teased with a grin.

'I've only done it once before, so it's the latter.'

'I could teach you Autumn, if you'd like that.' I turned around to see Yuuri giving me a bashful grin as he handed me a coffee, which I thanked him for.

'Yeah sure, why not? I'm very bad though!' I gave a nervous chuckle and thanked Yuko as I took the skates from her.

'Yuuri.' Viktor said, 'you need to practice for the upcoming qualifying competitions, you haven't got time to mess around.'

'I just thought whilst I was on a break, it might be nice to give teaching a shot. It'll be fun.'

'Don't be a spoil sport, Viktor-san.' Yuko said with a giggle.

Viktor pulled a hand down his face. 'Fine,' he said in exasperation, 'if anyone should be teaching Autumn how to skate, it should be me, I am a coach after all.'

'Come on, Autumn.' Yuuri took me by the hand after I'd put the skates on and took me towards the ice. I gave a smile to Yuko and Viktor as I went.

Yuuri took me by the hands and helped me to find my balance on the ice, every time I was going to fall down, Yuuri got me around the waist and hauled me back up again. 'T-thanks,' I said as Yuuri hauled my sorry ass back up again.

'So, tell me a bit about yourself Autumn, I feel like I haven't had a chance to talk to you properly just yet.'

'Well, I'm a writer, I write articles for newspapers and e-magazines. I've also published a couple of short story anthologies on Amazon, but they've flopped a bit to be honest. I'm now trying to work on two novels.'

'What're the novels about? If you don't mind me asking?'

'I'm not massive on talking about that just yet, I don't know you guys very well just yet. Please don't take offensive to that.'

'It's fine don't worry, no offensive is taken. Writing is a very personal thing. I don't know much about it, but I know that much. You can only talk about it if you're comfortable.'

We chatted for another ten minutes or so, and I was finally beginning to get the hang of ice skating. I glanced over at Viktor to see him leaning his head upon the railing, looking pretty miserable. 'I think Viktor's getting a bit upset over there, Yuuri.'

'It's fine, he's just being a sour puss, pay him no heed.'

I giggled and waved at the silver haired one. 'Cheer up Viktor!'

'I want to skate with Autumn too~' He whined.

'There's always later! I'm here for a week at least after all!' I called back to him.

We kept going, and I was getting to a point where I could skate without Yuuri holding on to me, I was going around the railing, Yuuri skating close by in case I fell, when I heard my phone ringing.

'It's from Damien!' I heard Viktor call, a second later, I heard him talking as he answered my phone.

'Viktor!' I shouted as I tried skating around the rink to get to him, 'what do you think you're doing?!' Yuuri took my arm in his and helped me to skate towards Viktor, cutting straight across the middle of the rink.

'I'm Viktor Nikiforov,' I heard Viktor say; 'I don't believe we've spoken before.' I heard Viktor say in English as I reached up to take my phone from him, giving him a punch on the arm as I did so.

'Yo, Damien!' I called out as I climbed out the rink. 'Sorry about that. Viktor is a pain.' I emphasised the last bit, so he would get the message, since Viktor could understand English perfectly.

I ushered the two guys away from me and they went back to the rink and practiced skating together and I sat down, leaning against the railing.

 _'What's Viktor doing, answering your phone like that?'_

'I was skating with Yuuri, and I think he just decided to be mean, to get his own back.'

 _'I'm guessing someone is jealous then.'_

'Haha, I really don't think that's the case.'

 _'You're essentially mine anyway.'_

'Oi, less of that you, nobody owns me, especially not you.'

 _'Just messing around, I'm being affectionate for once in my life.'_

'Damien, you're starting to worry me now, you being _affectionate?_ With _me?'_

 _'Come on.'_ I heard him laughing on the other end of the phone.

'Alright fine, loves you too, you idiot.'

At this point, Viktor was leaning over the railing, watching me with an unreadable expression on his face. I looked up and gave him a smile and a small wave.

'I'm settling in fine, don't worry too much, Damien. I need to figure out how to interview a certain Mr. Nikiforov.' At this, I bopped the Russian on the nose, and his unreadable expression cracked and he smiled.

 _'Well, best of luck with everything, you need to do well with this, your reputation is on the line. No biggie.'_

'Thanks a bunch Damien, alright, I gotta go. I'll be in touch.' With that, I hung up and turned to Viktor. 'What's up?'

'Are you and Damien, a thing then?' He asked, rather bluntly.

'N-no,' I stammered, nervous at being asked such a personal question in such a direct fashion. 'No, we're good friends. He's actually my landlord and he's a fan of my work, so he helps me to scout for jobs and the like.'

He gave a smile. 'I see, I see. I initially came over to ask if you wanted to skate with me.'

I looked over the edge of the rink. 'What's Yuuri doing?'

'He's practicing for his up and coming competition.'

'I don't think I can today Viktor, I'm sorry, I'm still really tired, I only got off the plane a few hours ago after all.'

Viktor pouted and his eyes seemed to take on a unique sparkle. 'Pretty please, just for five minutes? I'll go easy on you, I swear.'

'Ugh, Viktor, I'm tired.'

He clasped his hands together. 'Come on.'

'…Fine.' I sighed and he offered me a hand up off the floor. 'Thanks.'

'You weren't able to say no to me then.' He gave me a wink and I immediately started questioning _exactly_ what had made me say yes to this man.

He kept hold of my hand as he took me towards the ice. 'Literally five minutes Viktor, cause else I'll be in danger of passing out.'

'Yeah, yeah, five minutes, got it.' The tone of voice he was using made me doubt whether he was going to keep track of the time.

I was stable enough at this point that he didn't need to keep hold of my hand as we skated, but he did so anyway and I wasn't going to remove my hand because the added safety of it made me feel much more secure.

'Why're you here Autumn?'

I was puzzled. 'To write an article on you, Viktor.'

'I'm aware of _that,_ what's the real reason?'

I looked to my side to look up at him, but he was focusing on looking ahead and steering us around the edges of the ice rink. His eyes were focused and his bangs were bobbing up and down with each gliding step across the ice. 'I need material for my new novel – it features a love story.'

'So you came to Japan hoping to fall in love? How romantic.'

Most people who heard that phrases from anyone might have taken them as being sarcastic, but it sounded nothing but genuine, coming from Viktor's lips.

I shake my head and this time he does look at me, arching an eyebrow as he does so with his head cocked ever so slightly to one side.

'I'm not naïve enough to believe that I could find love here. I'm looking for that spark of chemistry in something. In a relationship that I see, in someone's passion, etc. I could go on and on.'

'Then go on, you fascinate me.'

I'd dropped eye contact half way through my little speech there but now I was looking back up at him again and he gave me a very gentle smile and I could feel the beginning of a blush sweeping across my cheeks. 'M-maybe I'll tell you more some other time, like I said, I'm really tired.' I could see that we were near the entrance of the rink and I started trying to skate towards it, Viktor had stopped though, so my hand had ended up pulling itself free from his.

I grabbed hold of the wall and turned back to look at him.

'You're going?' He looked so crestfallen, almost like he was about to cry.

'I'm sorry Viktor, I'm really tired. I need to get some sleep. I'll be able to have a longer day tomorrow, but if I don't take it easy today, I'm never going to be able to properly recover from this jetlag.'

I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted towards Yuuri who was on the other side of the rink. 'I'm heading back now! Thank you for skating with me!'

'It's no problem! See you later!' Yuuri called back as he cupped his own hands around his mouth.

I turned back to Viktor, 'good luck with practice, I'll see you tomorrow.' I held out a hand for him to shake and he took it, but then proceeded to kiss my knuckles. 'V-Viktor, what're you doing?' I said, flustered.

He shrugged, 'I'm not too sure really, I felt like doing it for some reason.' He gave me a crooked grin and I couldn't help my lip upturning in a little smirk of my own.

'Alright, bye bye.'

 **A/N Thank you for stopping by and reading this little fic of mine. Please feel free to drop a review, I'd love to hear what you think of this little story of mine. Well, I say little, it's not so little anymore :3**


	4. Chapter 4

After a little while I finally made it back to Yu-Topia, I had some food and then headed upstairs to my room and did a bit of planning work on my new novel, after a while of not being able to make much progress at all, due to continuously hitting walls, I soon gave up and threw the papers at the floor. Instead of letting that get me down, I got ready for bed before settling down with my laptop and watched some anime episodes instead.

I must've fallen asleep at some point, with my laptop still on, because I woke up to someone pounding on my door, singing my name over and over again. 'Autumn~' and then a minute later, 'I'm coming in!'

I opened my eyes and blinked through the haze and my eyes came to rest on the disturbance stood in the doorway, the door was wide open. 'Autumn! Time to wake up!'

'Viktor?' I sat up and rubbed my eyes, 'what're you doing here?'

He walked into my room and closed the door behind him before walking over to the curtains and opening them up.

I shielded my eyes from the intensity of the sun. I promptly woke up a bit more then, as I realised a guy I'd only met yesterday, was not only in my room but was also bending down to pick up the notes I'd thrown on the floor yesterday. 'Viktor, don't touch those, _please_!' I called desperately.

'Are these notes for your novel?'

I nodded and tried to convey through my eyes how desperate I was for him not to read them. I would've dashed up and snatched them from him myself, but I realised that my night dress wasn't exactly appropriate clothing to run and dash at Viktor in.

'I'll just pick them up then, I won't read anything.'

'Thank you so much for understanding.'

He nodded and placed the notes on top of the desk. 'If they're important, why were they scattered on the floor?'

I shrugged. 'I was trying to work on novel planning last night and I kept hitting a brick wall so I got frustrated. Then they flew away from me.'

Viktor chuckled at this and turned his gaze to the window.

'The bigger question here is why the hell are you in my room?!'

At that Viktor instantly looked like a kicked puppy and he stood there at the window and tapped his index fingers together. 'Yuuri's avoiding me today and Yurio's already back in Russia, so now I'm on my own.'

'Yurio? Do you mean the Russian Yuri?'

Viktor nodded, 'Yeah, he lost the competition so he left a little while ago.'

'So… You've come to bug me instead?'

Viktor brightened at this. 'Yup! Hang out with me? Please?~'

'Ugh,' I dragged a hand down my face. 'I need coffee.'

'I can sort that out!' He clapped his hands and all but started bouncing up and down.

I grabbed my phone. 'Viktor,' I all but growled, 'you woke me up and it's not even eight yet.' I levelled a glare at him and a shiver went up his back.

'I-I'll go and get that coffee,' and with that he scampered off.

I sighed and climbed out of bed; I grabbed a dress and some tights and went into the adjacent bathroom to have a quick shower. I came out and Viktor was sat on my bed, with a cup of tea in his hands. He gestured to my bedside cabinet, where there was a steaming cup of coffee and a bacon sandwich, 'I got you coffee and breakfast.'

I let my hair down from the bun I put it in when I had had a shower. 'That's actually really sweet of you, thank you.' I sat down next to him and tucked right in. 'So,' I said as I gulped down half the coffee, 'what's up with Yuuri?''

'Well, he's having problems sorting out the music for his skating program. He's not had the confidence to trust himself to sort it out in the past, but he's really trying this time, it's a real struggle for him. He had a piece of music composed by a friend, but it's not enough. So I think he's conflicted over the idea of reaching out to her to get her to re-do it.' He paused and ran a hand through his hair, so I waited patiently for him to continue. 'I'm worried I might be putting too much pressure on him.'

'Did you just want to give him a bit of space today then?'

'I don't want to,' he replied, 'but I think he needs it and I don't want to force my company on him when he needs to be alone.'

'I can understand that.' I stood up, 'how about you show me around Kyushu a little bit? I haven't been down town yet and then maybe later we can sort out the interviews I need to do with you?'

Viktor nodded. 'Sounds like a plan! I keep forgetting that you're actually here to interview me…'

'I'm just going to move to the bathroom for a few minutes, to do a tiny bit of make-up and to sort out my hair, but I'll leave the door open, so keep talking to me.'

'Are you going to go back to England after you've interviewed me?'

'Well, I was meaning to say actually, I'd like to do a couple of interviews. Is that okay?'

'Yeah, that's fine. Maybe I should refuse to let you interview me for now? Then you'll have to stay longer.' I listened as he then chuckled at his own joke.

'If you do that, I'll get in major trouble and then I'd still have to leave anyway, because I wouldn't be able to afford to stay here, I'm not paying for this right now.'

'That's annoying, but I guess that can't be helped. Hey, is this a copy of your short story collection on your cabinet here? Can I have a look?'

'Yeah sure, go for it, that's the newest collection I've put out.'

'Didn't you say it wasn't selling too well?'

'Yeah.'

Viktor was then silent until I'd finished getting ready.

I walked out the bathroom to find him reading my book. I climbed onto the bed behind him and leaned on his back as I gazed at the page he was on from over his shoulder.

'Would you let me borrow this? It's actually really good and I'd love to read it. I mean, it might take me a little while, since it's written in English and it's not my first language.'

'Yeah, of course. I will need it before I go back to England though, it's the only copy I have and I'm using it to help me work on my new piece.'

'Again with talking about how you're leaving.' He stood up, taking my book with him and marched purposefully towards the door, 'come on, let's go.'

 _Why does he suddenly seem really upset?_

I grabbed my bag and went out the door, by the time I was outside he was already on the other end of the corridor. I saw him take a sharp left and I rushed to catch up to him, only to collide with him as he came out of his room, after dropping my book off on his bed.

'Viktor, are you okay? You rushed off then and you didn't seem too happy.'

He ran a hand through his bangs and let them fall back down on his head again. He then turned to me and shot me a bright smile, 'yeah, I'm fine.' He took me by the arm, 'let's go!'

It seemed that he was able to put whatever was bothering him to the side, so I let it go and brightened up in turn as we headed outside.

I ran over to the railing and all but threw myself into it. 'Wow!' Viktor sauntered up beside me, his hands firmly shoved into the pockets of his blue coat. 'What a view!' I beamed at him as I looked across the expanse that was the ocean and out towards the island in the distance.

Viktor propped his back against the railing, levelling his gaze at me, which I didn't understand with the incredible view that was just behind him. Maybe my face was just funny to look at. 'Do you not live near the ocean in England?'

I shook my head, 'the nearest beach is a good few miles away and I don't drive. This is the first time I've seen the ocean in a while.'

We ended up walking through Ohori Park and going in and out of the surrounding museums. I realised quite quickly that this was an area for couples and this was then further emphasised by how often Viktor was stopped and asked for an autograph. To begin with, the odd person asked if we were a couple, mostly I just got glared at, but the amount of people asking if we were a couple increased substantially when we got to Ohori Park.

Viktor, as I was beginning to realise, was incredibly good at taking all of this in his stride. He was very good with his fans, smiling, signing notebooks and taking photos with them. Whenever a fan wanted a photo, I simply stepped off to one side, observing the situation.

Until one girl surprised me.

'Hey, you're Autumn Woodward, right?'

 **A/N Thanks for reading! Thank you so much to everyone who favourited this story and to those who hit the follow button, you're all epic! Please feel free to leave a review, and I hope you have a good week! See you next time round! ~**


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